


Here Near Midnight

by Nisachan666



Series: Blueprints for the Black Market [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Dai-hachi-han | Team 8 (Naruto)-centric, F/M, First Kiss, M/M, Multi, New Year's Eve, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2018-02-13 01:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2132508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nisachan666/pseuds/Nisachan666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shino doesn't really do relationships, so when Kiba and Hinata propose that they try out threeway dating, he is more than a little apprehensive. Does it have to be as difficult and awkward as he initially assumed though? As midnight on New Year's Eve approaches, he finds that the answer may be simpler than he thinks. </p><p>Inspiration - "Readyfuels" by Anberlin</p>
            </blockquote>





	Here Near Midnight

_Help me to wait on you, hesitate on through, cause I'm alone_

_Feel so jaded, contemplative, waiting for you_

* * *

 

Shino leant up against the training post, tendrils of cold seeping in through his multiple layers of clothing. It was strange being out here so late at night; away in the distance he could see the coloured lights of the New Year's festival, but here it was nothing but mottled shadow and the weak light of the stars. To the untrained eye he may have seemed calm and perfectly poised, but with Shino it was always the little things that mattered. The slight furrow between the eyebrows, mouth a little tighter than normal, his glasses occasionally folded and unfolded in hands that were usually so still. He wished that he could put them back on, but it had long since ceased to be practical. 

He shouldn't be this nervous. It was Kiba and Hinata, his best friends out of a very select few. But then, he had never thought that they could be anything more, at least until a few days before. 

* * *

It was a clear, sharp winter's morning when his father dropped two scrolls at his side. 

"These arrived earlier. They're not official," Aburame Shibi said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. 

"Strange. Thank you for bringing them." 

His father nodded and left, silently as was his wont. Glancing at the writing on the outside wrapping, he recognised the writing as that of his team-mates. Even weirder. What was it that they couldn't tell him in person? 

Snapping the seal on Hinata's letter, he was immediately met with the words, "Shino, I'm sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable. I know that what Kiba and I are asking of you is an unusual request, so if you want nothing more to do with it, I completely understand." 

Okay. So there was something that they wanted to ask him. Probably something personal, but as yet undefined. Shino scanned the rest of the letter, hoping that it would shed some light on exactly what this thing was. No such luck. The rest of the letter was an increasing avalanche of apologies and worrying, almost like they were twelve years old again.

It ended with the words, "I only hope that we can still be friends, regardless of your decision. You mean the world to Kiba and I, and I can't stand the idea that this would make things between the three of us strained. Yours, Hinata." 

At this point, Shino was beginning to worry. He paused before opening Kiba's letter, his imagination running over all kinds of potential possibilities. Kiba's letter was, in the end, absurdly simple. 

"Hey Shino. Me and Hinata fancy you. Want to date? Kiba." 

Shino blinked and re-read the letter. He rolled out the rest of the scroll, searching for where the rest of the letter must be. After searching for several minutes, he looked out over the little patch of grasses and wildflowers that he was cultivating, focusing harder than usual on the withered petals and frostbitten stalks. He noted idly that a letter that short really didn't warrant a full scroll; it was wasteful really. 

There are some things that you can't prepare yourself for. The idea that your best friends, your most-definitely-not-single best friends, would want you to be part of a threesome with them was one of them. When Shino realised that he couldn't avoid the idea any longer, he regarded the possibility with mixed feelings; most of those were, admittedly, stark terror and panic, but he couldn't deny the undercurrent of... interest, if he were to put it lightly. Still the panic was foremost at that point in time. 

"Shino?" 

At the sound of his father's voice, Shino visibly twitched, a reaction as obvious to them as a shriek. 

"Sorry, I didn't hear you come in," he said, trying to calm the tremor in his voice. 

"The insects are agitated. I came to see what was wrong." 

"I see. It's nothing important." 

"Son, please. The kikaichu haven't been this disturbed for years now. You may not want to talk about it, but don't assume that you can lie well enough to convince me." 

Shino glanced sideways and for a second considered just letting the conversation taper off. It was the easy option and the one with least possible ways to backfire. Instead, he pushed the scrolls towards his father, hand moving before caution had a chance to intervene. The minutes spanning Shibi's calm perusal of the letters was punctuated only by the scratching of insects at the underside of his skin, the irregular fluttering of wing cases beating a tattoo that seemed to blend into a general ache behind his temples and his chest. How he hadn't noticed them before seemed almost unthinkable. 

"You have interesting companions." 

"...right," Shino said, unable to see where this was going. 

It was moments like this that made him reaffirm why sex was not a topic that he brought up in conversation. Especially with his father. 

"This isn't what I expected the fuss to be about, I'll admit." 

"It isn't?" 

"No. Why? At heart, it is a simple yes or no decision. Either it is something that you wish to do or you aren't interested." 

"Aren't you bothered about any of this?" 

"Who you love isn't really any of my concern. If they make you happy, then I see no reason why you shouldn't pursue it," Shibi said, mouth twitching at the corner in what might have just qualified as a smile. 

"Thank you. It's good to have some support, I suppose," Shino said, seeming to shrink a little into his coat. 

He wasn't sure how much of a help his father had been, but it was something to think about at least. 

* * *

He hadn't gotten a chance to speak with them since he had received the letters. Ignoring training sessions. And that time Kurenai-sensei had treated them to noodles one afternoon. And the unusually frequent, yet completely coincidental chance meetings that they happened to have in the village. 

Okay, so maybe he had done his utmost to avoid the topic, but it was getting to the point where even Hinata was beginning to send worried and, eventually, impatient glances his way. So he had decided that he would give them his answer when they met to see the fireworks at the New Year's festival. It somehow felt like an easier task now that he had set himself a deadline of sorts. 

They were due to arrive in ten minutes, and the only thing that Shino could do was flick open the arms of his glasses again and try to keep his thoughts in order. Now that the moment was imminent it was difficult to stem the tide of images and memory fragments. That infuriating grin of Kiba's that had gradually become something to be treasured, though Shino could never be sure when the change came about. The delicate narrowing of Hinata's wrists, briefly visible as she struck out during training sessions, each day improving a little more. The soft, shallow breaths that Shino would strain to hear whenever he was on night-watch during a mission. Hell, at this point he could even put up with Akamaru trying to smother him occasionally, if only because it brought with it carefree laughter from the both of them. The accidental glimpse of Hinata and Kiba kissing before training one day, gentle and lingering. 

That memory in particular brought a flush to his cheeks. At the time, he hadn't expected the sudden rush of jealousy; he tried to keep his emotions in check, simply because he knew that the kikaichu tended to overreact to intense feelings of any sort, so the lurch of envy set the insects to buzzing and nearly chewing their way out. It was only then that he realised what he actually felt for his friends. 

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of booming barks nearing the training ground. 

"You're early," he said to the dimly lit shapes coming towards him. 

"We know. It's just that we wanted to talk to you before the fireworks started," Hinata said, the smile on her face tense even in this poor light. "It's just that we sent you some letters and we're pretty sure that you should have received them by now and...." 

"Stop avoiding us, Shino. It's getting insulting now," Kiba said, a growl roughening his voice. 

"Kiba...!" Hinata said, her cheeks flushing. 

"He's right. I have been avoiding the subject. It was unfair of me and for that I apologise," Shino said, laying a hand on her arm. 

"So, you have an answer for us?" Hinata asked. 

Shino took a moment to even out his breathing, his pulse almost thunderous in his ears. After a moment, he placed his glasses back in his pocket, glanced away, nodded. 

"While I would love to accept, I don't know if I can," he said, unable to look their way. 

"Why the hell not?" Kiba asked. 

"Why? Kiba, most people don't even remember that I'm here. And then, when I've basically resigned myself to solitude for the rest of my life, the two most important people in my life approach me with this offer...." 

Shino trailed off, finding himself at a loss for words. He had rehearsed this moment in his mind, but now that it was here, all of the words that he had prepared turned to ash in his mouth, nowhere near good enough in the cold evening air. 

"It's a lot to take on," Hinata said, smiling. "No chance for a trump card, right?" 

"Something like that," Shino mumbled. 

"Right, progress, finally. Just answer one question, yes or no," Kiba said, a satisfied grin on his face. 

"Go on." 

"Do you like us as more than friends?" 

"Well...." 

"Yes or no? I'm not looking for an essay." 

Shino felt himself flush, but forced a nod. 

"Then I'd say it's settled." 

"Sorry?" 

"Shino, we never expected you to just jump into bed with us at the drop of a hat," Hinata said. "And if you're willing to give us a chance, then we're willing to wait as long as it takes for you to be comfortable with us." 

"And if it doesn't work?" Shino asked. "The two of you have something good together, and I wouldn't want to intrude or ruin it." 

"If it doesn't work, then it'll most likely be because I did something stupid," Kiba said, laughter plain in his voice. 

Kiba seemed to consider something briefly. A moment after, he drew closer and draped an arm over his team-mate's shoulders. 

"Why are we still arguing the point though? We all like each other here, so what's the issue?" he asked, his voice low and so much more intimate than Shino had imagined it would be. 

This wasn't quite how he had imagined that the evening would end. Instead of the unimpeded retreat back into manageable, if not comfortable, solitude, he found his face mere inches from his team-mate's. Kiba's gaze was intense, as if he were trying to sear the image in front of him into the most vivid of memories. Hinata, who had thus far kept herself a little under arm's length away from him, drew closer. The nervous flitting of her eyes and the slight hitch in her breathing spoke of someone who was terrified of letting the moment slip away. They stayed that way for what seemed like an eternity. 

Kiba, as he was wont, soon found that Shino's response was too glacial for his liking. Tightening his grip around the back of Shino's neck, he closed the gap between them, his chapped lips meeting the older boy's thin ones. Shino could feel the tension in the air almost snap at the moment he felt Kiba press against him with open-mouthed kisses; with Hinata now so close that he could feel her stare branding his skin and Kiba's teeth nipping at him unconsciously, there was no room for fear in his chest. 

There was a pause where the cold night air replaced Kiba's warmth and proximity. Shino gasped in air, disoriented by the sudden absence of stimuli. Cool hands reached up and cupped his face, tilting it until he was eye to eye with Hinata. With infinite care, she raised herself on tiptoes and placed her whisper of a kiss against sensitized lips, leaving him with a brief, intoxicating hint of sweet lilac. Feeling the kikaichu grow calm inside him, Shino smiled, just a little. 

"Thank you," he said, unsure which of them to address first. 

"For what?" Hinata asked, her voice light and breathless. 

"For everything, really," he said, adding after a moment's careful scrutiny, "The offer might be a good place to start though." 

Shino was sure, looking back on that evening, that Kiba could have quite happily continued, or indeed escalated, the current turn of events, had it not struck midnight. None of them were certain who it was who jumped when the first firework went off, but, suffice to say, it was enough to kill whatever amorous mood was developing. There was a moment of shocked silence followed by Hinata's laughter, soon joined by her team-mates. The sound seemed to echo in the deserted training ground. 

"Happy New Year," she said through giggles. "I would say that we have quite a year ahead of us." 

"Indeed," Shino said, smile still visible for his companions to see. 

With Kiba draped across one shoulder and Hinata's hand clutched in his, he couldn't think of a more perfect way to start over. 

**Author's Note:**

> My first fan-fiction in a long while and quite a difficult one to get going. It was fairly recently that I reacquainted myself with my love of Naruto, despite how stupid it's gotten lately, and I realised that I had to write something for this OT3 of mine. Not especially popular, but I can't help but think that they are absolutely precious together. They always seemed to compliment one another really well in series, and I thought that this was the logical progression of that.


End file.
